WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Department of State is working on improving its cyber security and will temporarily shut down some of its unclassified network systems connected to the Internet, Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a press release.
“As a part of the Department of State's ongoing effort to ensure the integrity of our unclassified networks against cyberattacks, the Department is implementing improvements to the security of its main unclassified network during a short, planned outage of some internet-linked systems,” the press release, issued on Friday, said.
“The recent increase in news reports regarding cyber incidents reflects that the Department is among a growing list of public institutions and private industries facing an increasing number of sophisticated cyber threats,” the statement said.
In February, the State Department disclosed that it is successfully dealing with thousands of elaborate cyberattacks on a daily basis. However, media reports have alleged that the Department still struggles to rid itself of infiltrators, such as those who breached its unclassified e-mail system last November.
Cyberattacks have grown increasingly commonplace in public and private institutions across the United States. In 2014, the White House, the US Central Command, JP Morgan and Sony Pictures Entertainment, among others, fell victim to cyberattacks.
